matt hackmann - web developer - artist - nerd

Here we are at the final day of the year and our little anime awards show. So, here they are and we'll see you on the other side!

Best Show of 2011

Chris - Steins;Gate

Time travel stories are amazing, and this is something I've always known. However, Steins Gate -- a show I started watching out of idle curiosity - has confirmed how badass I think they are. Why is that, exactly? Sit your ass down and I'll tell you.

Like all good time travel stories, the show starts out all, "Huh?" then proceeds to, "Ah!" and ends on a "I FUCKING UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING NOW." You know what really helps these temporal feelings along? A refreshing cast of badass and well developed characters -- surprisingly light on school girls -- teams up with the plot to create a story so badass that you will sit down on the stoop of your Manhattan apartment and think like a GODDAMN MAN.

Convinced yet? Not enough info for your tastes? TOUGH SHIT. Absorb it through every orifice and be glad you did.

Reviewing music isn't really my style, but Weird Al can certainly be the exception to that rule. He may not have impacted my life quite like this guy, but through all the various genre swings I've gone through in my life, Al has always been there. He's in a very exclusive club that will get an in-store album purchase from me.

The reviews that follow are for the songs only. I've not yet checked out the accompanying DVD a music videos.

1. Perform This Way

An obvious rip on Lady Gaga and her extreme fashion. This song has been a terrible ear worm for me since I watched the video last week. Both the lyrics and music for this are pretty damn good, only problem being that the song is far too short, imo. The song sounds very, very similar to Madonna's Express Yourself so it's kind of funny to hear "express yourself" uttered during the lyrics.

2. CNR

It's a song about Charles Nelson Reilly being some sort of super human god. Not my favorite on the album musically, but not terrible. CNR was pretty cool on Match Game, though, and not to mention as the voice of Mermaidman Arch-villian, the Dirty Bubble.

3. TMZ

A parody of Taylor Swift's You Belong With Me (so Wikipedia tells me), TMZ is all about those idiot celebrity gossip shows/magazines I hate so much (even if he only mentions TMZ specifically). A few chuckle worthy moments to be had as he mentions real life celeb stupidness such as Spears shaving her head. This one's pretty good.

4. Skipper Dan

A rather depressing song about an acting genius who is stuck working a crappy amusement park ride as a tour guide. Probably all too common of a tale, the song is okay overall. This was one of a few songs he released a few years ago, so I'd already heard it.

5. Polka Face

I love Al's polkas; think they're the highlight of all his albums, so call me nerdy when the first thing I realize about this song is that, in an unprecedented move, not only does he feature another song by an artist who's been parodied on the album, but that song opens and closes the polka. This is not Al's strongest polka ever, seeming more repetitious than previous ventures.

6. Craigslist

This psychedelicy sounding song about the internet's garage sale is my least favorite on the album. Every time Al screams "CRAAAAAAIIGGSSSLLISSSTTTT-uh", I wince.

7. Party in the CIA

This is your usual Al song taking some serious topic (being in the CIA doing all sorts of black ops killing and wiretapping and stuff), and turns it into a bouncy, fun little tune. A Miley Cyrus parody, this song is classic Al.

8. Ringtone

A style parody of Queen (who is awesome), Ringtone is about some guy who has a terrible ringtone and how everybody around him cannot stand it. The opening sounds very much like Don't Stop Me Now and there's harmonies all over the place. The lyrics are pretty decent, too.

9. Another Tattoo

I am not a fan of rap and its current place towards the top of the charts means that much of Al's pluckings come from this pool. This song isn't terrible, there are some melody redeeming qualities in the chorus, but I probably won't put it into playlist circulation.

10. If That Isn't Love

If there's one person who knows how to make a screwed up love song, it's Mr. Yankovic and If That Isn't Love, a style parody of local band Hanson, is everything you'd expect from such. It's a cheery melody about the things the guy in the song do for his girlfriend that he considers above and beyond the call of duty (like not pretending she's some one else while they make out... most of the time).

11. Whatever You Like

This is another rap parody, made back in '09 right on the heels of the economic down turn. About a penny pinching boyfriend/husband, this song was kind of funny back then, but it's mostly "seent it" now.

12. Stop Forwarding That Crap to Me

This is probably my favorite song on the album, both lyrically and musically. It's yet another style parody of Meatloaf and song writer Jim Steinman, whose over the top songs are something I enjoy more than I probably realize. Stop Forwarding That Crap to Me is about some guy who is forever receiving forwarded internet garbage from a "friend". As anyone who has ever talked to me on IM knows, I am very much the "forwarder" here. Though, my content is usually fresh, not three years old. Oh, internet points for including a reference to Snopes.

So, that's my review of Al's latest. Overall, it's not as strong as in previous years and I attribute his overall seeming decline to change in the music landscape as well as age (he's over fifty now). But, even at that, the man is still a genius and can still belt out some awesome tunes.

Well, here is the final installment of the 2010 anime review. Sadly, my bros are now college students and, given the have homework and what have you, you're left with mostly just my reviews. But, there it is.

Angel Beats

Angel Beats is a venture from many of the staff of Key, creators of Kanon, Air and Clannad. It follows the souls of a group of high school students who have died and are trapped in a sort of limbo, trying to find peace with their previous lives.

Matt - I'm a sucker for all things Key, so it should come as no surprise that I enjoyed Angel Beats. It has a good cast of characters and an interesting premise, with moments that can swing from plain ridiculous - any episode where they go to the Guild - to absolutely depressing - Yuri's back story comes to mind. The animation is top notch and the show has it's fair share of good songs, too (my favorite would be the closer, Brave Song). I look forward to an NA release. - 8/10

Alright, here we are at round two of the Super Hackmann Bros. "Shit we watched in 2010" anime review. It's a little shorter today as we were all down with the sickness at various points last week, but rest assured more is to come.

Dai Mahou Touge (Magical Witch Punie-chan)

The story revolves around a young girl named Tanaka Punie who is princess of Magical Land. In order for her to become queen, however, she must become a transfer student in a Japanese high school. Crazy hi-jinks ensue.

Matt

Unfortunately, while this show has plenty of crazy moments, nothing ever really lived up to the clip that inspired me to watch it. The show itself is a successor of sorts to Bokusatsu Tenshi, but never comes close in terms of production or entertainment value. It feels like it's trying to do the same type of thing, but just doesn't have the good writing and characters that Bokusatsu Tenshi does. - 5/10

Jeff

I have even less to say about this. 7/10

Chris

Wow, this show is weird. It shows an anthropomorphic potato peeling itself, which is a testament to just how weird it is. Unfortunately, this weirdness isn't enough to make the four episode series very funny.

The first episode is great, maintaining its comic energy throughout, but once the second episode comes around it's already losing momentum. That's not to say that the final three episodes are bad, because they do contain some genuinely funny moments, but between those moments of win it rarely becomes more than mild entertainment.

For a short series though, you could do worse. 6/10

Follow the break to read the rest

We are at, again, the end of another year. As I am wont to do, I watched anime again and I am here to review it for you, my fine reading populace. However, my anime watchings is not something I do alone with a bucket of Haagan Daas in hand. I watch it while downing manly drinks and filling myself with sugar in the company of a couple of my many brothers. So, this year, I'm turning this series of reviews into a family affair. Since they missed out last year, we'll also be touching on some stuff I've already reviewed. Enjoy!

Outlaw Star

Synopsis

Another entry in a long line of 90s space westerns. Gene Starwind and Jim Hawkings are the purveyors of a business that handles various odd jobs (think Han Solo). Through one of these jobs, they find themselves with a highly advanced spaceship which leads to many a crazy space adventure.

Matt

I do not have many kind words for Outlaw Star. The largest problem with this show was the plot, They set things up for something large and arcing in the first couple episodes, but then dropped it until the last two. Everything in between is useless filler that doesn't do anything for the plot or characters. Adding to that, the dub was bad and the visuals were inconsistent at best. At least it had one good closer song. 2/10

Jeff

Don't watch this shit, dude. Most of time it's going nowhere, and when it is moving foreward, it only does so in small steps that are completely outweighed by the amount of useless drivel that serves only to bore or annoy you. -?/10. No, I do not think my score is harsh.

Chris

Outlaw Star? More like Outhouse Stall.

I can't count how many times this show promised something more and then turned around and kicked me in the balls. Throw in some super annoying characters and crappy character designs and you have one of the worst shows ever made, not even taking into consideration the beach episode(in a sci-fi show?) which scarred my eyes in ways razor blades and nails never could.

I'll give it a point for the accurate physics on that prison planet, though. 1/10

See our other reviews after the break.